C’est La Vie

There is nothing I love more than a little pre-holiday shopping – perhaps a new bikini, a beach dress, some suncream and a good book.

For us Brits, summer holiday clothes – just like ski clothes – tend to spend most of the year in our wardrobes. So it feels kind of special when we pack them up and take them on holiday. A break from our day-to-day wardrobe.

I love summer hats. When I was younger, I had quite a collection and I wish I could still squeeze my head into them. Really, since then, I’ve never found the perfect summer hat: one that fits well, protects from the sun, shades my eyes and most of all – looks great.

I hate exposing my face and head to the sun all day long. Mainly because I am prone to sun stroke (especially early on in a summer holiday) and secondly because I don’t want to end up all wrinkly when I am older. Yes more sun exposure = more wrinkles. Of course, the SPF 30 (sometimes 50) Clarins Face Sun Cream I wear helps prevent the wrinkles.

I can wear a cap or a head scarf but I like something a little fancy. In 2008, I went to Thailand and bought a big floppy straw hat. I haven’t worn it since. It was just a bit boring. I browsed the shops pre-holiday but I couldn’t find anything I liked. Inspired by the summer trend of personalised sun hats, I decided redesign my old Thailand hat with some strings of sequins and fabric glue.

Not bad huh? And actually free, as I had the hat, sequin string and fabric glue at home. I traced on my design with pencil and then glued the string sequin very slowly onto the hat. Quite simple really. I left the hat to dry for a few days before packing it up to go on holiday.